Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Wall Street Librarians to file Federal Court lawsuit against Bloomberg, the City of New York and NYPD — legal effort to uncover November 15 raid details.

New York–A lawsuit will be filed tomorrow, May 24, in Manhattan Federal Court seeking redress for the destruction of books, materials and equipment from the popular and respected People’s Library of Occupy Wall Street (OWS). NYPD raided and forcibly evicted Occupy Wall Street, including the People’s Library, from its Liberty Square camp (also known as Zuccotti Park) on November 15, 2011. The middle-of-the night raid, by members of the NYPD and other city agencies, was authorized by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Journalists were prevented from witnessing the attack; some were arrested. The raid struck not only at Constitutional rights but at a fundamental tool of enlightenment – thousands of library books and materials were destroyed.

What: Federal Court lawsuit filing, press availability with OWS Librarians
and lawyers. Copies of the complaint will be available.

When: Thursday, May 24, at 11:00 AM

Where: United States District Court (Manhattan Federal Court), Manhattan.
Press availability OUTSIDE — directly across the street from the 200 Worth
entrance, on the sidewalk in front of Columbus Park.

Occupy Wall Street is part of an international people powered movement
fighting for economic justice in the face of neoliberal economic practices, the crimes of Wall Street, and a government controlled by monied interests. #OWS is the 99% organizing to end the tyranny of the 1%. For more info, visit www.occupywallst.org and www.nycga.net
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Occupy Wall Street reignited a movement for economic justice. Now WOW — Women Occupying Wall Street — aims to do the same for feminism. They’re bringing together a broad range of New York City feminists—and unapologetically using the word—to launch a new, inclusive activism for gender justice and against the War on Women.

The First Feminist General Assembly is Thursday, May 17 at 6:30 in Washington Square Park.

Yes, it’s a meeting—but not just any meeting. The invitation list ranges from SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Justice Center to the Sex Workers Outreach Project, from the Granny Peace Brigade to Hollaback, a group of 20-somethings using cell phone cameras to broadcast the faces of street harassers. The conversation will be personal as well as political.

It’s as if the Suffragists were getting together with the Sixties reproductive rights activists. And feminist drummers. And men (OWS’s Men’s Circle) doing the childcare.

Gender justice is crucial to economic justice, say the organizers. No society is truly democratic without sexual and gender-identity freedom. The Recession and government cutbacks are hurting women and kids most. And all over the world economic and social progress depend on individuals’ control over their own reproductive lives and on freedom from gendered violence. Feminism opposes domination, by anyone of anyone.

As part of the Another NYC week of anti-austerity actions, which began on May 10th and will culminate on May 15th in a mass convergence at Times Square, NYC organizations and individuals from all across the city will join together for a family friendly Stroller March for a better future for NYC’s children, schools and families. Communities will come together to fight the Bloomberg budget attack on afterschool and childcare programs, children’s services and education.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: press@occupywallst.org, 347-292-1444
Contacts for each day of action below

ANOTHER CITY IS POSSIBLE, ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE

Continuing to shift the discussion from austerity to economic inequality, Occupy Wall Street and dozens of NY-based organizations join global days of action, May 10th-15th

Beginning on May 10th and culminating on May 15th in a mass convergence at Times Square, NYC organizations and individuals from all across the city will join together in action around the many issues we face: from cuts in social services, to an austerity agenda that redistributes your tax revenue into private hands, to the financial institutions (that we bailed out) that continue to make record profits at our expense. Actions on May 12th and 15th are in conjunction with global calls for action–coinciding with coordinated protests across Europe and the Mediterranean. Watch the video here. Continue reading →

New York, NY–Today, more than a dozen people staged a sit-in at the office of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, pressuring him as co-chair of the federal Financial Fraud Task Force’s Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, to make good on his pledge to investigate and hold accountable Wall Street’s crimes that have contributed to an economic crisis and more than 11 million underwater homeowners in the US. Participants in the sit-in and demonstration expressed outrage at the lack of apparent progress in investigating or prosecuting the crimes of the big banks against the American people and our economy.

AG Schneiderman recently called on the public to “help make this investigation as strong and thorough as it needs to be.” Those organizing and participating in today’s sit-in say they are answering that call (the AG’s words appeared on several signs), and have vowed to stay until Schneiderman agrees to attend a public forum in New York to provide answers about the about the working group’s resources, staffing, and timeline.

Outside, dozens of people passed a hat to raise funds for the working group, which critics have decried as woefully underfunded and understaffed. The Obama administration has so far promised 55 investigators (who have yet to be appointed), compared to the approximately 1000 federal investigators focused on the much-smaller Savings & Loan crisis of the 80s and 90s.

“Since its creation more than 3 months ago, the silence from the federal mortgage fraud working group has been deafening,” said Han Shan, one of the sit-in participants. “We’re here to make some noise and show we won’t be satisfied with lip service and lies. Homeowners and working people across the country continue to suffer from the economic crisis created by Wall Street fraud, and we want accountability now.”

Alex Krales, one of the people sitting arm-in-arm on with protesters on the floor of the building lobby, demanded that the task force “step it up,” citing the fact that no banks or bankers have had to answer for their infamous crimes against the American people and our economy.

Outside of the office building at 120 Broadway where the Office of the New York State Attorney General is located, only about a hundred yards south of the Occupy Wall Street movement’s birthplace in Zuccotti Park, scores of demonstrators rallied in support of the sit-in. In addition to signs that quoted Schneiderman’s own words, people held banners that said “Banks Steal Homes” and “Bring the Banks to Justice.”